New Hampshire Strong

On the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing some find the perfect words (and tune)

By Rick Broussard

Searching for the words to respond to the tragedy of last year’s Boston Marathon was what added “Boston Strong” to the lexicon of resilience. And that phrase has inspired more than memorial T-shirts and stickers.

It certainly inspired songwriting duo Ernest Thompson and Joe Deleault. The two artists have worked together on a number of recordings as well as numerous musical pieces for movies produced by Thompson (whose Hollywood and NH credentials were cemented by his Academy Award-winning script for “On Golden Pond”). Thompson, too, was searching for the right words in the aftermath of the bombing and when he found them he brought them to Deleault to set to music. They wanted to tap into the overflow of goodwill that followed the tragedy by creating an anthem that would draw people together whenever it was performed, says Deleault.

They worked quickly and pulled together a talented team to cut the demo. With vocals by Cam Macmaster, guitar by Tim Theriault, Mike Rossi on bass, Scott Kinison on drums and Jim Prendergast on banjo, they recorded it at Prendergast’s Mill Pond Music Studio in Portsmouth. YouTube star Christian Wisecarver of Super Secret Project is onboard to help create a video version of the tune. The hope is that it will inspire other renditions and live on as a tribute to the unity of purpose that is most profoundly revealed by good people overcoming adversity.